Flat track racing is all the rage in Europe and the States, but it hasn’t really caught on in South Africa yet. There’s no official race series there?just the occasional ‘run what ya brung’ shindig, where the emphasis is on fun rather than hard-nosed competition.
That hasn’t stopped Johannesburg local Justin Steyn from building his ideal flat track rig though?a replica of Honda’s late-80s RS600 race bike.

The RS600 was the baby brother to the dominant RS750, purpose-built for short tracks and TT circuits. It was never a production model, and there are very few examples out there, but it was basically a works HRC XR600R motor in a Knight Racing frame.
The idea was sparked when Justin entered the only annual event in his area?’Stofskop’ (translated from Afrikaans as ‘dust kick’). He started on his Honda CR250R, then closed out the day running laps on a mate’s BSA bobber.
?I was hooked and wanted to build something more suited to flat track racing,? he tells us. ?I wanted to feel the slide?and the CR250 on MX tires wouldn?t allow it.?
“So I set out to find a donor. I thought I?d build something that would tick two boxes: a cheeky bread ‘n milk runner, as well as a flat track weapon for those odd occasions.?

Justin found a 1998 Honda XR600R at a Honda dealership, that had gone in for some work. It was clean and licensed, so he snatched it up and immediately put his credit card to work.
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